Mayor John Cranley, sensitive to their frustrations over the years, called Wednesday for the city he leads to become "an asylum city,” a "Statue of Liberty Center.”

Cranley’s announcement about creating a new welcome center had been delayed until Wednesday so as to nail down funding, real dollars to make the project happen.

Cranley described the effort locally that has led to this point as "truly inspiring.”

He created a special task force 15 months ago. It unveiled 21 recommendations today to further Cincinnati's welcoming spirit to immigrant families.

"Obviously, there's political rhetoric around the country that suggests it's not a good thing and we are emphatically saying we love immigration, we want more immigration, we believe that it's key to our economic future and you're a better, more just society,” said Cranley.

Among the suggestions that will go to City Council for consideration in November: Set up a Center for New Cincinnatians to serve as a one-stop resource.

Cranley said he believes city government will agree to provide $50,000 a year for the center.

The University of Cincinnati has committed to the same amount. The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber will help manage it.

Along with scores of volunteers and other civic-minded leaders who helped form the recommendations, Kandre Kabanga attended Wednesday's announcement downtown.

Kabanga said he arrived from the Congo four years ago, speaking only French, no English.

He recalled those days when he had not yet made contact with Cincinnati State where he is about to graduate.

"And I started little by little making some connection like, you know, from church or meeting some different people with kindness and they just want to help me," Kabanga said.

Kabanga said he wishes the city had done something like this years ago so he could have benefited from it.

More than 60 other cities already have welcome centers and 100 cities around the country have established immigrant websites.

According to the Hispanic Chamber, the city is among the lowest when it comes to percentage of foreign-born, those who speak a second language and issuing passports.

"If you put those three together, we're not looking out. We're just looking in,” said Alfonse Cornejo, who heads the Hispanic Chamber.

Although he believes we're late to the dance, he is encouraged by what he heard today and feels confident Cincinnati will surpass other cities with this new immigrant initiative.

"If we're going to have a region that is growing, somehow we need to attract more people and bring more people,” said Cornejo.

Jill Meyer, who leads the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, thanked the mayor for his "bold vision,” pledging to transform it into bold action and citing economic figures she hopes will be eye-opening to those who are not as open to the immigration potential.

Although Cincinnati's foreign-born population remains under 4 percent, it possesses an estimated $1.5 billion in spending power, according to the chamber.

Additionally, it's calculated the foreign-born population paid $189 million in state and local taxes.Cranley emphasized there has been ongoing effort to make the city more inviting to immigrants. He said the announcement Wednesday ratchets the effort to a higher level.

"The real test will be money,” Cranley told media.

"We need to catch up and surpass,” he said in reference to other cities such as Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Charlotte.

The budget for the new center could hit $300,000.

Cranley estimates it will take six to eight months to get the project organized.

As for undocumented workers, there is nothing specific in the task force report about them.

The archdiocese is working on identification cards for undocumented workers in Cincinnati.

Noting the city will not issue ID's, Cranley stated it would accept ID's developed by Catholic Charities for municipal purposes.

That includes providing identification to police.

There are many aspects to the immigration recommendations the task force put forth Wednesday.

Many have very practical application, such as enforcing wage theft laws and setting up training and classes forlearning English.

There could be one other avenue to get rolling on. One of the very first things Kabanga learned when he came here from his native African homeland was the absence of mass transit.